What Happened to April?

I'm still here!  And I have stories.  Lots of stories.  Just no time to share them.  I hate it, but I can't even write anything tonight because my eyes are about to close on me.  Staying up until 3am three nights in a row isn't good for the ol' eyelids.  But don't count me out, 'cause I'm planning a big return ..... just as soon as I don't have a cake to make or a toddler pulling on my pants leg.

Hmmm...

What I Would Do with $540 $640 Million

Oh, the possibilities!

(how many people are doing this same day-dreaming today?)

I would start packing right away, and move my little family right on up to Asheville, North Carolina.  We'd find a house to rent or buy, where we would live while we built our dream house on a lot next to a creek.  That lot would be big enough, of course, to accommodate our mini-village of vacation rental cottages.  I imagine they would be something similar to these.

The kids would go to public school there, since the schools are supposed to be great.  I don't know, I guess with $540 million we could afford to send them to private school, but I think I'd like them to lead as normal a life as possible, and if the schools are good, let 'em go.  Not that private school isn't normal, but we can fork out the money when it comes time to go to college.

I would hire a property management company to manage all of my family's rental properties and move my parents to Asheville so that my mom and I could find the perfect building in downtown Asheville to open our bakery (of course, we'd have to wait until she and my dad were done traveling the world).

Josh would have his choice of a brew pub in downtown Asheville, or a brewery we can build on our property.  I think he'd go for the brew pub.

Jeff would get his school paid off and a house on the beach, Greg would get this, this, or this and a house where he chooses, and Lauren and Matthew would get a house in Augusta big enough for their growing family, complete with a guest cottage where the live-in nanny would stay.

Steve and Lynn could have their pick of houses, maybe somewhere in between Augusta and Asheville (also with a guest cottage where Nana and her nurse would live).  And they, too, will need to travel the world.

There would most definitely be a shopping spree in store for each member of my family, and then maybe one for me and my girlfriends in New York.  What do you think, ladies?  New wardrobe?

We'd have a lake house and a beach house, of course, but we would have them with a rental agency so they can be rented out when we're not there.  No need to waste an opportunity, right?

And you know I would find a few great charities and do my part to help rescue abused animals and children, provide treatment for sick children, and preserve our wildlife, to name a few.

Once we got our traveling and shopping sprees out of the way, got our houses purchased and businesses started (with great people to run them so that we don't have to be there and away from our family 24/7), it would life as usual.

Just with a lot less worry.

Are We There Yet?

When I was pregnant with Bennett, I felt better than I have in my whole life. The whole way through. I mean, I had sciatica and a tiny bit of indigestion at the VERY end, but other than that, I felt on top of the world. With Cannon, I felt great during that pregnancy too, but it wasn’t quite as easy as the first. I had a two and a half year old to run after, so what can you expect? But I was still so happy to be able to say that I never became one of those pregnant women begging for someone to “PLEASE GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME!!!”

This time…

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME ALREADY???

I feel guilty having that attitude, but for the past week, I have come very close to tears on several occasions just because I am so. darn. uncomfortable.

It started Saturday. I woke up that morning cramping. Lying in bed, I told Josh that it felt like the sciatica pain I’ve been experiencing, except it was coming on in waves and it wasn’t due to a sudden move by me or the baby. I was just lying in bed, hurting every once in a while. Later that day, I was explaining the feeling to my mom. It hadn’t occurred to me before, but as the words were coming out of my mouth telling her, I realized what I was describing. Before I could say anything she said, “Marcie, do you think you could be having contractions?”

It was just strange to think that’s what it could be, because I was still two weeks from my scheduled c-section date and three weeks from my actual due date. With the other two pregnancies, I never once had a contraction before my due date. Bennett was born two days after his due date, and the day he was born was the first day I had ever experienced a contraction (and what an amazing experience that was - really). No Braxton Hicks before then, nothing. With Cannon, nothing. My c-section was scheduled a week before his due date, and I felt nothing at all leading up to that. So I just didn’t even consider that when I first felt the cramping the other morning. I’m still not 100% sure that’s what it was, just because it was only on one side, and it was in my back. Though I’ve heard plenty of people talk about ‘back labor.’

The contractions subsided that morning, but returned later in the day while Josh and I were out seeing a movie (thanks, Mama, for letting us have that little outing). I’m sure the people behind us in the theater loved watching me move from side to side the entire movie, trying to find a comfortable spot. They stopped again after the movie, only to return once more that evening while sitting on the couch. They never got more intense or more frequent; just the same uncomfortable cramping in my lower right back.

Sunday and Monday I didn’t feel them at all. Completely gone. But I was worn out. From doing nothing. I just sat around all day, unable to muster the energy to do a thing. While the boys were napping on Sunday, I sat down on the couch and just stared into space for a long time. I caught myself several times with my head back on the couch and my mouth wide open, asleep. I’m sure that was a lovely sight when Josh walked into the room to check on me. I had no TV on, no radio; just sitting in silence. It felt nice, just to rest. Until I tried to get up and walk, which proved quite difficult. The longer I sit in one position, the longer it takes me to ‘learn to walk’ again. I look like a 90 year old woman trying to get to her walker so she can go into the kitchen. It’s lovely.

Yesterday Cannon and I met my parents at Cracker Barrel for a delicious breakfast that I had been craving for a while (their pancakes are from heaven). After that, they took Cannon back home with them so I could return a few things from Christmas before having to get Bennett from Montessori. I first went to Bed Bath and Beyond. Thankfully, the ‘expectant mother’ spot was open right in front, so I took advantage of that (almost certainly for the last time :( ).

As I walked into the mall, with every painful step I debated turning right around and going back to my car. But Bed Bath and Beyond is right there, so I was able to make those returns before heading back to my parents'. Seeing the condition I was in, Mama and Daddy offered to get Bennett for me so I could just take Cannon home and lay him down for a nap. They kept Bennett until supper time, which was a huge help.

I napped while Cannon napped, and then pretty much assumed my position on the couch and stayed there until I fell asleep for the night. The cramping started back around 7:30 and lasted for about an hour. This time she was moving around quite a bit, making it painful. I got up to eat a bowl of cereal, but that was about all I did. Josh fixed the boys’ supper and put them to bed. I did read Bennett’s stories to him, but from the couch rather than upstairs like we usually do. I felt pretty useless, but didn’t feel too bad about it, because that’s what I obviously need right now.

I’m getting ready to call the doctor to inform them of my condition the last few days. Every time I go in they ask if I’ve had any contractions and how I’m feeling. And every time I say, “Nope, not the first one! And I never had any with my other two pregnancies, so…” And they say, “Okay, well there’s no reason to believe you would with this one either.” My last appointment was last Thursday, and boy, have things changed since then.

I'm not sure if they'll move my c-section up, put me on bed rest, or just say 'Hang in there!' We'll see...

(Oh, and I want to post the pictures of my last two cakes, but Blogger says I've reached my maximum for pictures. Boo. Guess I'm gonna have to pay them something if I want to put up any more. I'll figure something out soon.)

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Last night Josh and I hired a babysitter for the first time.  We wanted to go see a movie and have dinner, just the two of us.  Well, the movie didn't wind up happening, because the show times just didn't work with our dinner and babysitter arrangements.  So, dinner it was.

We went to Gabe's Downtown in Villa Rica.  Between it being one of Josh's accounts for work, us knowing a few of the employees, and this being where lots of our acquaintances in the community come to have dinner, it was a very enjoyable outing.  It just feels good to go into a restaurant and have the bartender yell out (over a crowd of people at the bar), "Josh! Marcie!"  And then, while Josh and I enjoyed our drinks at the bar while waiting for a table (for Josh, a Manhattan - for me, water with lemon), to have a couple of the servers and then the owner's wife come over and chat with us for a little bit.

While we enjoyed our (delicious) meal, our server sat with us for a while, and then our other friend came over and did the same.  Our meal wound up being completely comped, so when we got up to leave, we went into the kitchen to thank Gabe, the owner. 

On our way out we spotted some acquaintances of ours from when each of us was on a committee for the city.  We stood at the bar for another 15 minutes talking to them.

It just feels so good to get out and socialize.  Josh is used to this - this is what he does for his job.  He goes out to restaurants and socializes with the bartenders, servers, owners, and while doing that, probably runs into people he knows and chats with them too.  But for me... I haven't done that in - oh, let's see, Bennett turned four in December - about four years.

Josh and I used to go up to Fabiano's all the time to hang out, eat dinner, play trivia, or just sit at the bar and split a pitcher of beer.  We'd talk to the bartender (this is how we met our good friend, Dustin), the servers, and our friends and neighbors who would be in there too, doing the same thing.  Then we'd walk back home, often with a couple people joining us.

I remember there was this one neighbor of ours that we always saw out.  The husband.  We'd always spend some time talking with him, and we'd ask how his wife was.  We hardly ever saw her out.  Every once in a while she'd be with him, but it was very rare.  They had a small child.  I remember wondering why she was never hanging out with him, with or without the baby.  I thought she must have just been a little anti-social or something.

Oh my gosh.  Do I ever understand it now.  Because I am her.  I have been for four years.  Josh still goes out every once in a while, either with my brothers, or a friend that's in town or something.  And I'm never there with him.  Ever.  I'm always at home, taking care of our brood.  Which is totally fine with me - I'm not that interested in hanging at the bar anymore, you know?  And I would guess that our neighbor felt the same way back when I was labeling her "anti-social."

But anyway, last night reminded me of how good it feels to go into a place and have everyone know you and greet you so warmly.  You feel like part of the community, and I haven't felt like a part of the community in a while.  My own choice, but still.  It was a nice reminder that they're still out there when I'm ready to participate again.

Curious Clues

I love popcorn from those old-timey-type machines.  I was in Wal-Mart the other day and passed up a free bag of popcorn from one of those machines.  Not only did I pass it up, but I got as far from it as I could, as quickly as I could.

I sat down at my parents' house and started looking at the Publix ad to see if there was anything I needed and had to put it down because the pictures of food made me want to throw up. Literally.

The other day at lunch I set a kid-size cup full of orange juice down on Cannon's tray and gave Bennett a sippy cup of whole milk.

I was in the kitchen washing dishes as Bennett watched Cars. I turned to the movie as some random (not sad, not sweet) part was on and started crying. Which was immediately followed by laughing at myself.

And we are sadly passing up a trip to Napa Valley for my cousin's wedding in September because, well, it would be wasted on me.  Who wants to go to Napa Valley and not drink wine?!?

You tell me what's going on...

Play-Doh Accessories

I was reading back through my journal tonight and found this:

Tuesday, 03-22-11:

Bennett is playing with play-doh in the kitchen while I’m in here working in the office.  He just came in here and said, “Look what I made, Mama!” and brought me a blue play-doh ribbon that he made in his extruder.  He said, “You may weah (wear) it, Mama.  Puh it on.”  So I said, “Ooh, is it an earring? (and held it to my ear) Or is it a necklace? (and held it at my collar bone) Or is it a bracelet? (and put it on my wrist)”  He said, “No.  It’s a darf.  Puh it on your net.”  And in case you didn’t get that - it’s a scarf, put it on your neck.  He just came back in with a necklace for me.  I put it on my neck and he had the proudest, happiest look on his face when he saw what he had made around my neck. 

I should have posted that a long time ago.  :)

Marcie the Giggling Grouch

I've been meaning to write this post for a few days.  I've been feeling grouchy lately.  But tonight I asked Josh to make me one of those coffee/vodka drinks (I promise this is the first time in, like, a month at least), and now I'm not feeling so grumpy, but I still want to post it.  I just kind of imagined writing it with a scowl on my face, but instead, I'm giggling at all of these topics I want to mention.

I've just been making a mental note of all the things people do in my daily routine to irritate me.  And this could most certainly be a 'to be continued' kind of post.

But for now...

1.  It irritates the crap out of me when I pull up to a stop sign and come to a stop before the person perpendicular to me, but they feel the need to motion for me to 'go ahead.'  Uh...yeah, I know.  I was here first.  Of course I'm gonna 'go ahead.'  Grrrrr.......

2.  It irritates me even more when a car pulls up to a stop sign way before I get there, and waits for me to get to the stop sign and come to a complete stop before going.  Oh. My. Gosh.  Just go!  You don't have to wait for me to stop!  I'm still half way down the road from the stop sign!  Just go!  You're now making me wait for you!  I guess I can understand if you've been in an accident involving someone running a stop sign, but I would guess that's not usually the case, and it is quite obvious that I'm planning to stop when I slow to 25, 20, 15, 10, 9, 8.... mph as I approach you.  Go!!!

3.  I try to get to the gas station in the middle of the day, before everyone gets off work and floods the place.  Same with the grocery store.  But sometimes I can't help it, and I have to go fill up at 5:45pm and choose a pump to pull in behind someone and wait for them to finish.  I hate doing that, but sometimes you have to.  BUT.  Can I please just say that pulling up head-on to a car still pumping gas is never going to work?  You have to pull in behind someone in order to actually get your turn.  I realize that some gas tanks are on the opposite side of the car, but find a car that is like yours that you can pull in behind.  This woman is sitting in her car that is pulled face-to face with another car when another car pulls in behind the car that is occupying the pump.  The woman gets out of her car and goes walking, shouting, and finger waving towards the other car saying, "I've been waiting!  I was here first!"  I mean, really?  As soon as that car backs up and moves on, you know another one is going to pull right up!  Just go find someone that also has a gas tank on the right side of their car!

Okay, I think that's all for now.  I'll definitely let you know if I encounter more stupidity.  I guess I can't really call it stupidity.  I'll let you know if anything else just really irritates me.  How about that?  :)

iPhone Etiquette?

Okay, I have a question.  I don't have a smartphone, therefore I do not receive e-mails on my phone.  I'm still in the stone age where you sit down at your computer and log in to check your e-mail.  Haha.

Anyway, it just occurred to me that there might be some kind of new etiquette about what time you should stop sending e-mails in the evenings.  I mean, a lot of times I'm on the computer late, responding to facebook messages and e-mails.  Just now I was getting ready to respond to a lady about a cake and thought - wait a minute.  It's 11:00pm.  Her previous e-mail to me had that familiar line at the bottom "sent from my iPhone."  Is it too late to send this?  Will her phone make a sound, letting her know that I've written her?  What if it were 2am and I wanted to write her back, because that's when I had the time to get on and take care of things?    

I mean, it's not 2am, and probably never will be when I'm writing e-mails, because if you know me, you know I love my sleep and wouldn't be wasting quality snoozing time writing e-mails.

But you get my point.  Do iPhone users turn their phones - or at least their alerts - off after a certain time at night, or is there some etiquette out there that I don't about that says you shouldn't send an e-mail after a certain time?

Somebody educate me!

About a Chair

If any of you ever want to spend about $900 on me, get me this chair:

Oh, how I love that chair.  It's even more beautiful in person.  It's actually a lot more beautiful in person.

Mama and I went shopping yesterday at Lenox and this chair was at Crate and Barrel.  It's just so classy and calming and peaceful.  I don't know if you can tell, but it's an ever-so-light shade of bluish gray.  I love those airy colors.  I'd love to decorate a room with this as my inspiration. I'd love to have just tons and tons of money to be able to afford to decorate a room that would make this chair feel at home.

We were shopping for new artwork and such for our house, since we're on a Spring Tour of Homes in Douglasville next Saturday, the 30th.  Oh my gosh, that's just a little over a week away.  Gotta go.

Privacy, Please!

So here's the deal.  This blog is about to go private.  I'm not exactly sure how this is going to work, because I've never made it private before.  I imagine it may be a little less simple than it has been in the past to catch up on your Bennett and Cannon tidbits.  And Marcie and Josh moments; let's not forget the ones that made it all possible.  ;)  But, it has become important to me lately that not just anybody should be able to read about my life and my family.

So if you are a friend, family member, or just a fan that wants to continue reading about our little moments, please let me know in the form of a comment with your e-mail address and I will have to send you an invitation to continue reading (if you've already done this on facebook, obviously you don't have to do it again).  And if I don't know you, I'm going to need you to make a case for yourself (how did you come across my blog? do we have a mutual friend? why are you interested in continuing to read my blog?)

So that's that.  Let me hear from you.  :)

So Fresh and So Clean

Okay, don't get mad at me for what I'm about to do. It's one thing to take time to post about a train derailment before I post about Bennett's birthday and Christmas, but this?

I don't know what it is lately, but I just have this burst of energy and good mood.... ness. There are a lot of reasons that I could be in a really bad mood - and trust me, I have had plenty of moments - but these last couple of days have been really good. I have just wanted to call up everybody I know and tell them how much I love them.

This morning I have been happily ironing Josh's shirts and folding his socks. I have picked up several of his t-shirts (that he puts on after his shower in the morning and then takes off downstairs and leaves lying around everywhere - something I despise and have asked repeatedly that he not do) and smile while folding them and taking them back upstairs.

I even passed up lunch at Monterrey's with my mom and brother to keep whistling while I work.

But the thing that made me decide to take a break from my domestic duties was when I went outside to clean the outdoor dryer vent.

Does anyone else love that smell as much as I do? Oh my gosh. I'm guessing that plenty of you do, otherwise they wouldn't have "fresh linen" scented everything.

You know how some people use air fresheners to make their house smell good if company is coming over? You know what I do? I start a load of laundry and try to time it so that it will be in the dryer when our company comes walking up the back steps.

I really do that.

So if you ever come to our house and you can smell the fresh linen scent of our clean clothes in the dryer.... it's all for you. You're welcome.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane...

So a couple of weeks ago I was driving home from Montessori and when I turned off Bankhead Highway to head towards our house, I saw a big orange blimp over Ace Hardware. That's not something you usually see in good ol' Douglasville. I continued to drive towards our house and kept seeing this big orange thing through the trees. I decided I wanted to take a picture of it with my phone so I could show Josh what a bizzare sight I had seen that day.

So I pass our house and head down some surface streets to get to an opening in the trees. Once I finally did find a spot, the blimp had already gotten pretty far away. I couldn't quite make out what it said on it - it was bright orange, and it had big white letters on it that I could have sworn said "CONAIR," but I thought 'surely it doesn't say "CONAIR."' Whether it be the criminal transport one or the hair styling one.

Anyway, I never got a picture, but I did tell Josh about it.

Well last night I watched Conan. (This video is actually from a previous episode):



Well there you go. I saw Conan's blimp. How 'bout that.

Quick and Insignificant

This is really quick and insignificant (hence the title of this post), but I wanted to share it.

Bennett was just in the living room and let out a series of poots. Josh said to him, "Bennett, are you pooting?"

Bennett said, without looking up from his toys, "Nope." (long pause) "Not anymore!"

Oh, He Makes Me Laugh

The other day, Bennett was in the living room with Josh and said, "My (I'm) gonna take a dump."

Josh looked at me, puzzled, and replied, "Where are you going to take a dump?"

Bennett said, "On Daddy's shoulder."

We both laughed, realizing then what he was talking about. He and Josh play a game that involves Bennett standing on Josh's shoulder and jumping off (Josh is sitting in the floor when he does this). So, Bennett wanted to take a jump on Daddy's shoulder.

And Bennett is all about being a big boy lately. We've been working on potty training (which is why the above statement was alarming for a split second), and have been talking about how big boys use the potty. So now everything is about being a big boy. He says, "No, my not baby, my big boy!" My dad calls him skid row every once in a while and he says, "No, my not skid row, my big boy!"

Tonight we ate dinner with my parents and afterward Daddy was going to let Bennett get a shower with him so we didn't have to deal with bath time once we got back home. He said to Bennett, "Bennett, I'm going to go get a shower, are you interested?"

Bennett said, "No, my not interested, my Big Boy!"

Might As Well Face It, I'm Addicted to Coke

Well, not so much Coke; more like Coke caps and boxes.

I have always been a big fan of saving money, and that naturally leads me to be a fan of deals and rewards. We are big Coca-Cola drinkers, since my dad worked for the Coca-Cola Bottlers' Association for almost 30 years, retiring a few years ago. Put the two together, and there you have my addiction.

For anyone that doesn't know, Coca-Cola has something called the "My Coke Rewards" program. On every Coke product, there is a 12 digit code. You sign up online at www.mycokerewards.com, enter your codes, and as you accumulate points you can redeem them for fun stuff (magazine subscriptions, movie passes, Coke gear, more Coke, etc.). I love it. I never pass up a chance to get stuff for free. I know it's far from free, but we'd be drinking the stuff anyway, so to me it's free.

So of course I keep the cap of every bottle of coke we drink, and the end of every cardboard box gets torn off before going into the recycling bin. My parents keep theirs for me, and so do Josh's parents. Greg and Cici used to give me their caps and box ends, but I think they've caught on and have started entering their own codes. Good for them.

But this isn't where I stop. Josh and I are lucky enough to get to go to several of Georgia's home football games each year with his parents. After each game, I scour the stands for coke bottles that people have left. I unscrew the tops and drop them in my pocket or empty cup. Josh and his parents usually enjoy sitting and listening to the band's post game show since Josh and Lauren were both in the Redcoats and are used to that ritual. I use this time to rack up on Coke points.

It's strangely fun for me to scan the rows, using my Coke radar to spot the caps. I have to draw a line for myself for which row to stop on, or else I'd find myself halfway across the stadium. But then it kills me to spot several Coke caps just lying there, right on the other side of my 'line,' just waiting to be picked up by the cleaning crew and dumped in the trash. Often, I break my rule and cross the line for 'just one more.' And I guess that's the problem with any addiction. You just can't get enough.

Since we have to walk almost the entire length of the stadium to exit, I usually walk through the stands rather than down next to the hedges, just so I can score a few more before having to leave.

And, embarrassingly, on our way to the car I check out the trash cans for any coke bottles with the caps still on. I don't dig through any trash cans. If you've ever been to a Georgia (or any) football game, you know that by the time the game is over, every trash can is spilling over. I only take a cap if it's right on top or lying on the ground.

And yes, I keep hand sanitizer in my purse.

It's probably still a little gross, I admit, but it's my addiction and I don't care.

We went to a show at Chastain Park a few weeks ago (my first time at Chastain - wow, what a great venue) and I did the same thing after that show. My search wasn't quite as intense as it is at Sanford Stadium, because 1) it was dark, 2) most people drank beer rather than Coke, and 3) I was with my friends and was being more secretive about it. How embarrassing. I mean, just how poor are Marcie and Josh that she has to take other people's Coke caps to enter online? I know Josh lost his job, but geez... That's what I imagine they'd think.

I was driving down Bankhead Highway one day and saw a 24 pack Coke box lying on the ground next to the railroad tracks. It was all I could do to keep driving forward. I wanted, so badly, to turn around and get that sucker. That's 20 points!

Ugh. It's bad.

Anyway, the whole point of me spilling all of this is to show you what made my night last night. Josh's parents came to visit last night. They have some really great friends in Snellville that got wind of my love for collecting Coke points and did an amazing thing.

They enabled me:


!!!!!!!!

It's Christmas in September!

What a lovely, lovely thing. And Tim, while I'm sorry that your eye sight is not as great as it used to be, making you unwilling to squint and decipher each and every tiny little code, I am thrilled to receive this box of free stuff ('cause that's what it ultimately is)!

*Okay, here we go. Please know that I do not take lightly the word 'addiction.' And because there are a few addicts out there that I hold near and dear to my heart, I want you to know that I do not condone the phrase I used, "but it's my addiction and I don't care," or the act of enabling an addict. Addiction is a dangerous thing and should be dealt with seriously and carefully. There. Felt like it needed to be said.

Quickie

I know you are all anxiously awaiting the big long post with all of our vacation pictures. What? You didn't even know we went on vacation? Well, I guess NOW you can start anxiously awaiting that big long post. The computer is just not my hang out these days. I feel guilty every time I sit down here because there is so much other stuff that needs to get done.

But real quick, I wanted to share this.

Bennett is talking more and more. He's got his own little language that mostly only I understand. I have to say, it's kind of fun being the translator. I like it when he lets out this big long sentence of what seems to be nonsense and everyone looks at me for clarification. And I can almost always give it. Sometimes he stumps me too, though.

Anyway, he's into saying things are "right there" or "over there" or "down there," etc. Except it sounds like "right duh" and "over duh" and "down duh."

I was at Mama and Daddy's house the other day and Mama said, "Marcie, watch this." She asked Bennett where his toy truck was and he pointed and said, "Right duh." She said, "Right duh?" He said, "No, right duh." She said, "Right duh?" He said, "No, right duh!" She said, "Right there?" He said, "Mm hmm."

So funny. I've enjoyed that game ever since then. Although he's starting to catch on and he'll tell me, "Mama, don't way (say) right duh."

Up and Down, Up and Down

That is our life these days! Good news is followed by bad news, then more good news, only to be followed by more bad news.

Thankfully, the latest news was good news.

So Josh lost his job and our tenants moved out, leaving us with zero income. I couldn't believe it when, not two days after our tenants were completely moved out, we showed the house and had ourselves a new tenant! We set up an appointment for today at noon to accept her deposit check and sign the lease. I just couldn't believe that something was actually going to be so simple; something was going to just work out for us, for once. Turns out it was too good to be true.

I saw that I had a missed call and a voicemail from her yesterday. When I saw her number I knew it wasn't good. I listened to the message and it was her saying that she wasn't going to be able to rent the house after all. She was renting a room from a good friend who had become dependent on her rent and was devastated to hear that she was moving out. She just couldn't do it to her.

That seriously ruined my mood yesterday. I was devastated. I knew we'd find someone else, but it was just the fact that I had been so positive about something actually working in our favor and then to find out that, nope, not so fast. Ugh! Can't we catch a break?

Well, maybe we can.

My phone rang just a little while ago and it was her. This time I had a good feeling about seeing that number. She said she finally stood up to her friend and decided to do what was in her best interest and asked if the house was still available. I told her it was, and we're supposed to meet her up the street in just a little while.

I don't have a check in my hand yet, so anything could happen still, but it's looking good.

Whew! One hurdle out of the way.

Going Down?

You know how they say that if you dream of an elevator going up, it means that things are positive in your life and if it is going down, it means that things are negative?

I dreamt last night that Josh and I were in an elevator and the cable snapped and it plummeted to the bottom of the building.

I guess the good thing is - WE SURVIVED.

Sorry for the Delay

I just don't have the energy to post anything. I don't even have the brain power to figure out what the next sentence should be (I just sat here staring at the screen for a good 3 minutes before writing that).

I started uploading some pictures, but stopped. I tried to upload a quick, cute video of Bennett meeting his baby brother for the first time, but it wouldn't work for some reason. I was just going to post that to let you know I'm still here and I do want to share with you our newest addition and adventure, but I'm just pooped!

I talked to my sister-in-law, Lauren, today and she felt the same way. She just had her baby boy May 1st, so she and I have been going through some of the same physical and emotional stress lately. I told her I was thinking about blogging about our troubles with Bennett's bedtime routine and she said, 'You're doing better than me! I haven't felt like blogging at all lately.' Well, she went and got sneaky on me and posted this nice, detailed, wonderful birth story and I have still posted nothing.

I'll get to it, I promise. Maybe tomorrow I'll get tired of walking around on these water balloons (also known as my feet - yes, they are extremely swollen after giving birth) and sit down at the computer for a good while. I'm not making any promises, though.

Move Over, Battlestar

Aww.... isn't that sad?

But it's the harsh reality of what's about to happen to Mr. BSG. Room has to be made for Mr. CTG.

So, then, what in the world is going to be the new name for this blog?

Hmm.... think, think, think.